President John Dramani Mahama has announced four key initiatives he intends using to revitalise road infrastructure following what he describes as the crisis that has marred the sector as a result of mismanagement.
Citing the road contracts that have been stalled as a result of the previous government’s failure to pay contractors, John Mahama says the sector needs a reset to make it more viable.
For that reason, he has assured to introduce what he calls the ‘Big Push’, under which the four key initiatives would be implemented.
The President, speaking in Parliament in fulfillment of a constitutional requirement to provide an update on the state of the nation Thursday, February 27, 2025, outlined the challenges currently confronting the sector and what he intends doing to ameliorate them.
“…therefore, the road sector is in crisis, mainly due to years of mismanagement. As many as 85% of awarded contracts have been stalled, and contractors have stopped work due to non-payment. As of December 2024, unpaid bills owed to contractors exceeded GHS 20 billion for work carried out between 2018 and 2024.
“For instance, the Ghana Road Fund obtained a loan of GHS 600 million in March 2018 to refinance outstanding debts and borrowed an additional GHS 1.2 billion from a syndicate of banks in November 2019.
“Alarmingly, upon assuming office, the Ghana Road Fund still had outstanding payments—including some as low as GHS 2,000—dating back to 2018. Current commitments for road projects now total an astonishing GHS 105 billion.
“Despite these considerable challenges, this government remains steadfast in its commitment to prioritise vital infrastructure projects that address the pressing backlog of poor roads.
“Our strategy will be anchored in executing flagship initiatives under the “Big Push” Programme. The Big Push will see major rehabilitation of many key roads in the feeder roads, urban roads and Highway sectors.
“We will also undertake the following key initiatives to revitalise the road sector:
- Reintroduce tolls using modern technology,
- Rationalise the Road Sector Portfolio to focus on high-impact initiatives,
- De-cap the Road Fund,
- Minimise sole-source procurement to encourage competitive bidding and enhance public transparency in procurement processes,” President Mahama detailed.
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